Limoneira Company reported their financial results for the first quarter which ended January 31, 2020.
Harold Edwards, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, stated, “Our overall seasonally soft first quarter of fiscal 2020 results generated slightly higher lemon volume, but was offset by lower pricing due to the high winds that reduced the amount of higher priced fancy lemons available for sale. Avocados, oranges and specialty citrus revenue increased compared to the same period last year and our real estate development project, Harvest at Limoneira, has now closed 244 lot sales, including 34 during our first quarter of fiscal 2020.”
Mr. Edwards continued, “During the past few weeks of our second quarter of fiscal 2020, we have experienced reduced lemon and orange pricing due to the negative impact COVID-19 is having on consumer demand in Asian countries and supply chain disruptions. This situation is also currently creating an oversupply of lemons and oranges domestically. We are updating our full fiscal year 2020 guidance and now expect improvements in our avocados to be offset by a currently challenging environment in our citrus offerings. We expect full fiscal year 2020 adjusted EBITDA to increase compared to last year to a range of $15 million to $20 million.”
Looking into fiscal year 2020 and beyond, the company has an additional 1,200 acres of non-bearing lemons estimated to become full bearing over the next four years, which will enable the company to achieve strong organic growth for many years to come. The company expects 300 of the 1,200 acres to become full bearing in fiscal year 2021. Beyond these 1,200 acres, Limoneira intends to plant an additional 250 acres of lemons in the next two years that it believes will further build its long-term pipeline of productive acreage. The company anticipates this additional acreage will increase its domestic supply of Limoneira-owned lemons from its 2020 level by approximately 50%, or about 900 thousand to 1.3 million additional fresh cartons, as the non-bearing and planned acreage becomes productive. The company also expects to have a steady increase in third-party grower fruit. The foregoing describes organic growth and does not include potential acquisition opportunities for the company in its highly fragmented industry.
To read the full financial results, click here.
For more information: 
John Mills
Limoneira
Tel: +1 (646) 277-1254
www.limoneira.com